


First Watch

by drhicks76



Category: Final Fantasy X
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-07-20
Updated: 2014-07-20
Packaged: 2018-02-09 17:03:53
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,391
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1990803
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/drhicks76/pseuds/drhicks76
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>In the forests of Macalania, Wakka takes a few moments to collect his thoughts about Yuna's pilgrimage and what it means.  He is soon joined by one of the people in his thoughts, Lulu, and he feels lucky to share them with her... but it's the thoughts about her that he can't quite bring himself to do so.</p>
            </blockquote>





	First Watch

**Author's Note:**

> Much to the glee (and thanks to the encouragement of) my editor, [Mercale](http://archiveofourown.org/users/Mercale/pseuds/Mercale), this is my first foray into Final Fantasy fic, which was a gift for my girlfriend who has introduced me to this amazing game and its rich and relatable characters. It's decidedly "canon-based" and reflects where I was in the game when I wrote it (I still haven't finished it at the time of my posting (July 2014); just working on the side quests before I go tangle with Sin), so if something seems a bit off or wonky to you, keep that in mind (and no spoilers, please! I do, however, already know what becomes of these two in FFX-2, but I only had suspicions when I wrote this story). I hope you enjoy this little "slice of life" story and I may come to revisit this world as a writer someday. I wonder how many people out there still read FFX fic, anyway...

** FIRST WATCH **

     “Another few paces in that direction and I suspect you’ll find yourself face to face with a swarm of wasps or worse...”

     Wakka spun at the familiar lilt of Lulu’s voice and in spite of his fatigue, complimented by the dull but somehow satisfying ache in his arms and legs from the day’s exertions, he gave her a broad smile. “Hey, nothin’ I couldn’t handle, ya? Killin’ bugs seems to be my job around here lately.”

     “Keep in mind you aren’t the only one capable of attending to airborne fiends, but I would agree that we’ve seen more than our share of them as of late.” Lulu’s belted skirt made a soft sweeping sound against the loose dirt as she approached, a dirt that Wakka was more than thankful to be standing on after a lengthy journey both over and through the dense glowing forests of Macalania.   “The next time I see a water elemental will be far too soon.”

     “For you an’ me both. Sure glad to have you around where those things are concerned.” He watched as she drew up beside him, as always cradling a small figure in the crook of her arm, just in case something should penetrate the perimeter of the warning spell she’d cast on their campsite. _Better safe than sorry, especially with the critters we’ve seen on the way so far._ He remembered a couple of particularly eventful nights during this Pilgrimage ( _Yuna’s Pilgrimage... I still can’t believe this is happening, even after all we’ve been through already,_ he thought) where creatures had tripped her defenses but still managed to get the drop on their group of travellers, which had seen its number grow to seven quite recently. “Seems like we’re constantly fightin’ something or other.”

     “Indeed. There are dark forces at work. Those who do not wish to see Yuna reach Zanarkand have a great reach. It just seems like there’s someone close to us who knows where we are and where we’re trying to go.”

     “Boy, you ain’t kiddin’. You know, the last couple of nights I even dreamt that we were fighting these things! One minute we’re chasing butterflies and the next, BOOM! And they’re nasty ones; WAY nastier than what we normally run into.” The red-irised eye of Lulu’s that was visible widened ever so slightly at this. “What? You know what I’m talkin’ about, Lu? You’ve had those dreams, too?”

     Lulu took a moment before she answered. “Normally, I would simply chalk that up to coincidence but considering the nature of what we’ve encountered so far, I wouldn’t dare to take this lightly. I would neither dare to venture as guess as to why it’s happening, however.”

     Wakka nodded; he’d long since given up trying to understand the nature of the dark magics his friend and fellow Guardian had devoted herself to, but every now and then, he wished that he had even a fraction of her gifts so that he might be better prepared for what was coming. “At least we’ve got a pretty good team here; even in those dreams, we never lost, right?”

     “Come to think of it, no, we didn’t. But to use one of your blitzball analogies,” she continued with a half smirk, “we didn’t exactly ‘shut them out’ either. Some of our encounters, both in our dreams and in our waking lives, have come awfully close to ending tragically.”

     “Ya… one in particular seems to be taking the brunt of it, too, but you gotta expect to get smacked around when you try to steal stuff, even from nasties!” Wakka looked over to the newest member of their group, a slight young woman with flaxen hair who was warming herself by the small fire Lulu had lit for them a few minutes previous. “If it wasn’t for Yuna, we’d need to pluck a Phoenix a day to keep Rikku conscious!”

     For the briefest of moments, the smirk on Lulu’s lips blossomed into a smile. “So it would seem. But what she gains from her raids, she puts to use in ways I can’t possibly fathom. The lightning she calls is much different than my own.”

     “So what do you think of her?” Wakka asked.

     “Rikku? She seems pleasant enough... quick... capable. I do have to stifle a laugh when I watch the girl run, however.”

     “You noticed that, too? Oh, man...” Wakka’s smile at the thought fell away after a moment. “I was surprised she didn’t want to visit the Farplane.”

     Lulu considered mentioning the barest hint of an accent she detected in Rikku’s speech to Wakka but dismissed it, just in case her Al-Bhed heritage never came to be revealed to him. _No point in poisoning potable water._ “Some choose to partake. Some choose to refrain. Auron opted not to join us either.”

     Wakka turned his attention to the brooding figure seated on a pale blue log across from Rikku. To see Auron’s face and scarlet tunic, even half-lit in the firelight, inspired feelings of awe within him. “Hey, I’m not gonna tell a living legend what he should or shouldn’t do!”

     “I’m pleased to see you’ve gained some wisdom on this journey.” A moment after she said this, she cast her eyes down. “And I do mean that, Wakka. I wasn’t trying to be flippant.”

     “No worries! Yeah, I’m learning as we go here. In a lot of ways, it’s not too different from blitzball: we all have a role to play and everyone’s got their own way of doing it. Having someone like Auron around keeps us focused; he’s done this before - he knows what it means to be a Guardian. I’m sure Yuna’s thrilled to have him on board.” Wakka chuckled softly. “Then again, she might be even more thrilled to have someone else on board, ya?”

     At first, Lulu wasn’t certain what he was getting at, but as she made a point of focusing on the direction of Wakka’s gaze, she understood that he was looking not only at the Summoner they had all sworn to protect, Yuna, as she drank in warmth from the fire but also the most peculiar member of their party, a young man with wild blonde hair who was in the process of animatedly telling a story to that Summoner. Despite the flickering light, it was obvious to her that not only was there a ghost of a smile on Yuna’s face but that her rapt attention to the young man’s tale grew deeper by the minute. “Tidus…”

     “Yeah! Look at her! Is it just me or is she looking at him like she oughta be looking at Maester Seymour?”

     “How do you mean?”

     Wakka barked a laugh, but while it set Rikku to looking around anxiously, Auron didn’t budge nor did Tidus stop his storytelling. “Look at them! Tidus is weaving a tale about the glory of the Zanarkand he knows and loves and she’s eating up every last crumb of it.”

     Lulu sighed sharply. “One minute she says she’s made her decision and is prepared to live with the consequences and then the next, she’s dewy-eyed over this… person from who-really-knows-where. This is dangerous territory. There’s no denying he’s interested in her; I’d recognize that look anywhere.”

     The witty retort concerning where she would have seen that look before died in his throat before it reached his lips. _Chappu… Aw, Lu, I’m sorry for even thinking it. Maybe you’re right about the wisdom; a couple of months ago and I woulda said it out loud._ “You’re probably right. So what do we do?”

     “Do?” She straightened herself up, making her necklaces clatter softly. “If I had my way, I’d let Kimahri tune him in but I suppose I should find a moment to speak to Tidus myself. While Kimahri has come to respect Tidus enough to speak to him, I don’t suspect he would take kindly to letting our new friend interfere with Yuna’s plans, no matter what we may think of them personally.”

     “Ya, you’re probably right. Where is Tall, Dark and Silent anyway?”

     “Probably lurking in a tree on the other side of the campsite,” Lulu replied, scanning the darkness beyond the light of the fire. “It’s not like we would see him unless he wanted to be seen, even with that polearm of his.”

     Wakka nodded. Even after all of his years of knowing the Ronso, he was still amazed at how someone so big could make himself so scarce under the right circumstances. _Not that he needs to camouflage himself terribly often; most nasty critters would rather run at the sight of him... at least the ones with some sense._ “I’m glad he’s here. All I know is that I wouldn’t want to be on the wrong side of that pointy stick.”

     Lulu made a quiet chuckle. “The fact that Tidus didn’t end up on the wrong end of it speaks volumes.”

     "Hey, I always knew the guy was all right! It was you that needed convincin’!”

     “We’ve been over this, Wakka. Just because someone happens to bear a striking resemblance to someone else doesn’t necessarily mean they’ll act like that person.”

     At this, Wakka took a deep breath and looked up at the pale blue foliage that gently pulsed around them. “I know. Even after seeing Chappu at the Farplane and telling him about Tidus and the sword, I still had all these mixed feelings inside, ya know? I wanted to let the whole machina thing slide and put it to rest but it’s still not at rest. Maybe some things never quite will be?”

     Lulu rested her hand on Wakka’s firm shoulder. “I understand. Especially where Chappu is concerned.”

     “You were there while I was saying my piece to him. And Tidus was there with you. I... didn’t want to look back at you both.” A pause. “Maybe I couldn’t even if I wanted to.”

     “And that’s perfectly fine. If I had any need to revisit someone there, I would have. I was quite content in explaining it to Tidus. He’s surprisingly perceptive at times for one so strangely ignorant of the world around him.”

     Wakka snorted. “You still don’t believe him, do you? About being from the past?”

     “There... may be some truth to what he says,” Lulu replied, adjusting her hair after a cool breeze pushed the part of it that covered her forehead around enough to irritate. “I don’t see any reason why he would lie to us about that. He may be a bit on the impetuous side, but so far that has worked in his favour. He genuinely believes in Yuna and her mission... I have no reason not to trust him. But for now, it’s probably best that he maintains his cover about being ‘touched by Sin’ when we’re around others. Makes explanations easier.”

     “If I didn’t know better, I’d think you were actually startin’ to like the guy, Lu!”

     “Perhaps,” she answered. “But I shall continue to keep my eye on him.”

     “And what about me?” Wakka asked, looking over at her and tossing his blitzball a couple of feet in the air and deftly catching it a few times.

     Lulu’s thoughts returned to what Tidus asked her while they waited for Wakka to finish his time with Chappu in the Farplane. _Is he asking me... no, I need to watch Yuna above all else._ “Do I need to keep an eye on you? Are you planning to inadvertently ring that ball of yours off of my head in the middle of a battle? Or are you going to suggest that it has a mind of its own?”

     “Ha! Don’t be makin’ fun of my blitzball! It may not be a big freaking sword like Auron’s, but it does the trick.” He eyed up the doll Lulu was carrying: it wasn’t the usual Moogle-styled one she tended to have with her, but resembled a small black cat sporting a jaunty golden crown. “Besides, it’s just a bit more intimidating than what you got there.”

     She raised an eyebrow but her smirk suggested she understood he sought only to tease. “Careful, now; so far this new friend of mine has taken care of not one, but two chimeras singlehandedly! If you feel the need to attempt to equal that feat, you may be able to find some out on the path in the direction you were walking...”

     Wakka held up his hands and shook his head. “Oh, no. No, thanks. I’ve had enough killing nasties for one day, thanks! Anytime you want to let your little friend make a chimera go away, you go for it, ya?”

     “So I shall.” Lulu let her hand fall away from his shoulder and set off back towards the fire and the people around it. “You’re good to cover the first watch?” she asked as she looked back towards the spot where Wakka stood.

     “Totally. Me and Kimahri got this; you guys better rest up while you can. How much further is it to the top of the mountain?”

     “Auron figures another day’s journey. The wind is much cooler here, in case you hadn’t noticed.”

     “Oh, I noticed. At least there’s still some trees around to keep it down.” Wakka watched as she started to resume her walk back to the campsite, thought for a moment and then called out, “Lu?”

     “Mm?”

     For what was only a couple of seconds but in his mind felt like forever, he thought about what to say. “Um... don’t be too hard on Tidus, okay? And tell Yuna that no matter what she decides, I’m there for her, ya?”

     Lulu just looked at him for a time, nodded and said, “I will,” then returned to her intended path and the company that awaited her.

 _Real smooth, Wakka..._ he chastised himself. _Ah, never mind. Yevon’s will is what it is. Those who believe will find what’s theirs in time. Those who don’t..._ He opted to chase the dark thoughts of his brother and did his best to remember Chappu as he last saw him, a glowing image created by pyreflies and his own memories. _Sometimes all we need is a little guidance, ya? I hope Yuna gets the guidance she needs... and just maybe Yevon could even spare a bit for a boy from Besaid, too._

 


End file.
